A Kitsune's Tale
by barncat13
Summary: While searching for Naraku, the group stumbles upon a strange fox demon named Mitashi. She knows about Naraku, seems to be oddly familiar with Sesshomaru, and is hiding something about her past. Could she be what they need to defeat Naraku? SessxOC InuxOC
1. Prolouge

**A Kitsune's Tail**

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"Mitashi, you will because I say so."

"I won't! I won't marry him!" cried Mitashi, roughly shaking her head, causing tears to fly. Her father's calm demeanor disappeared completely. His face disfigured by a snarl, he grabbed the neck of her kimono and shook her hard. Her head whirled.

"You will!" he roared, ears quivering in rage. He flung her to the floor. Her head slumped forward in a dejected manner. Her father bent down to lift her up by her hair. Just as his hand closed around a handful of black hair, Mitashi's hand and foot shot out. Her foot knocked his legs out from under him. Her hand, glowing blue, plunged into his gut. He yelled in pain and slashed at her face with his claws.

Mitashi ripped out her arm and stumbled back. Lord Aoi, her father, shook with rage and pain.

"How dare you strike me!" His hand glowed bright white for a moment, then a white sword with a black hilt appeared in his hand. Mitashi's eyes widened and she scrambled back, to get out the door, into the courtyard, where someone might help her.

The courtyard was always full of people. But who would dare oppose her father? Jishi! Jishi would help her! The soldier was always stationed nearby. He knew how her father was. He would help.

Her claws ripped trough the flimsy paper door and she fell out into the mud, staining her kimono along with her father's blood. She crawled out of the puddle she was in and looked around the courtyard. The empty courtyard. _Where is everyone?_ She thought. _There are always people here_. A loud footstep seemed to echo behind her.

_Oh, no. He'll kill me for sure this time. Dear god, I'm going to die…_It ran through her head like a chant. A loud crack behind her made her turn around. Lord Aoi stood in the doorway, pieces of the door crushed under his foot. He raised the blade above his head, throwing his head back with an insane laugh. Mitashi saw his blood red eyes and curled into a ball, hands covering her head, waiting for the down stroke of the sword.

A moment passed. Then another. It never came. She opened her eyes and looked around, using her nose to search for his scent and her ears to listen for any motion nearby. She didn't sense anything, she decided after a few strained seconds. She stood up and her shoulders slumped. Her relief was almost audible.

With no warning, there was a blade at her throat. Her father's voice murmured in her ear.

"Well, sweeting, you've been a naughty, naughty little girl. What should we do, hm?"

The white edged sword dug slightly into her throat and she felt her skin part and blood run down her neck. _It's finally happened. He finally snapped. My father's insane, _she thought, _he's gone._ She swallowed hard, panting, causing the blade to cut her throat open more. _I'm going to die._

Realizing she had no other choice, she lunged out, receiving several wounds on the arms, and a huge nick in her ear. Somehow she knocked the blade away.

And she transformed.

Surrounded for a moment by a whirlwind of smoke, in her place stood a silver fox, at least nine feet tall. Mitashi opened her mouth and snarled in Lord Aoi's face. He held the sword horizontally in front of himself.

"So the little kit wants to play, does she?" asked her father, putting a finger to his lips. He giggled insanely and swung the blade at Mitashi's face. She jumped behind him and growled deep in her throat, snapping at his arm. Aoi leaped into the air and landed on her back, driving her into the ground. She yelped at the intense pain in her ribs. Mitashi kicked him off and bit into his shoulder before he had a chance to move. He didn't move a muscle as her teeth closed over and sunk into the bone of the top of his left arm, confusing her. She paused for a moment, and that was all it took.

"Bad kitty," he whispered, and he attacked.

With a mixture of yipping and growling, Mitashi flew backwards and landed under a tree, immediately untransforming. Fire seemed to course through her heart with every heartbeat. She put a hand to her chest, feeling the huge gash that poured out blood with every pulse.

She sat there, helpless, and watched Aoi turn and walk away, appearing to have forgotten about her. Her rage at being ignored overcame the pounding in her blood. So she wasn't important enough to hold his attention? Mitashi stood up and raced full speed at his back, fangs bared and claws outstretched.

Mitashi never reached him. She collided with a barrier she couldn't sense around him. She was forced back, flying through the air and slamming into the oak tree she had previously been under. Mitashi heard and felt something break, then landed on the ground and curled up. The wound over her heart was throbbing and she touched it instinctively, her hand coming away soaked in blood. Her vision grew blurry and she faintly heard Lord Aoi humming in the background, then slumped over. She recognized the song as one her mother had sung to her when she was little.

"M-mother…"

_

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_

_In the meadow lies a flower_

_Under the old oak tree_

_Where it waits to see us laughing_

_Just you and me_

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_

**Ok. This is the first fanfiction I've ever let anyone read. If you liked it (or hated it for that matter) please read and review. I'm always looking for new ways to improve my writing. Suggestions? Comments? I'll be happy to take anything. If you liked it, the next part of the story should be up within the week. Oh, and I forgot the disclaimer: I don't own Rumiko Takahashi, but I wish she would at least sign over Sesshomaru:P **

**Mitashi Tsukimoto**


	2. The Beginning

**Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha, but it would be nice.**

**A Kitsune's Tale**

**Chapter 2: The Beginning**

"Can you fix it or not!" yelled Inuyasha. The old sword smith scratched his head.

"Hmm…well, I don't know," Totosai replied. Momo mooed contentedly behind him while grazing.

"Please, all we ask of you is to sharpen Inuyasha's sword," said Miroku. "Surely is won't take you too long."

"Is that what you want?" asked Totosai, rubbing his beard. "Why didn't you say so earlier?" The senile sword smith turned toward Momo, muttering under his breath. Miroku sighed and swung his staff out, pushing Inuyasha back to keep him from mauling the old man.

"That's what we've been asking you to do, you stupid old man!" moaned the half-dog demon.

Totosai looked back, regarding the group. "I suppose I could have a look at it. You've probably been rough with it again, haven't you?"

Inuyasha mumbled a few choice words under his breath and literally threw Tetsusaiga at him. Totosai pulled the sword out and turned it over and over. He cried out when he noticed a small scratch on the blade, caused by a bear demon they had defeated a few days previously. The old man turned to tears and began stroking the blade, like you would to small child to comfort them.

"I knew it! I still don't understand why your father left something so important to you. You have no respect for your sword at all. Well, I'm not saying Sesshomaru would be a better choice, but…" Totosai kept talking to himself as he transformed the sword and sat down on a large rock near Momo and picked up his hammer. The ramblings were cut off when he blew out a stream of fire on the blade. When not heating the sword, the group caught only snatches of the conversation.

"The Great Dog Demon wouldn't…up to _me_ I would have…rather than an ungrateful…" The rest was lost in loud _clangs, _when he started to hammer the blade. Apparently, though, Inuyasha still heard a bit, judging from the way he had started to talk to himself as well. Inuyasha stomped off several paces, and flung himself on the ground in front of Kagome's pink bicycle, foot twitching in impatience. Chtessa, sitting next to him, 'hmphed' in agreement to his unspoken comment about Totosai.

After several minutes of staring at the ground in front of him, Inuyasha looked up at the horizon. The sun was only about an hour away from beginning to sink, meaning they wouldn't be able to finish traveling to the village they had been headed to. Miroku and Sango already knew this, and were gathering supplies to build a fire. Shippo was begging for sweets from Kagome's big, yellow backpack, and was appearing to win, as the small fox settled back down to spread his prizes out in front of him.

He glanced at Totosai. The old man was now cradling the sword and running his hands over the flat of the blade, searching for more imperfections.

"That's disturbing," said Chtessa with a disgusted look on her face. Inuyasha knew he had one similar on his own. "If he's done with it, you should take it back before he does anything else to it."

"Hmm," he replied, when Totosai began hammering the sword again.

"Inuyasha! Chtessa!" shouted Sango from the campfire. "I'm going to go get some fish from the river over there," she gestured toward the trees on her right. "Do either of you want to help? You know how much we'll need. Totosai's a hog." The hammering stopped momentarily.

"Did someone call?" He said, head spinning left and right.

"No, you're hearing things!" said Inuyasha. That satisfied the old man and he resumed work.

"Yeah, I'll come with you," said Chtessa, standing up and brushing off her pants. Suddenly, she grinned at Sango and Kilala. "Race ya,"

In response Sango leaped on Kilala's back and took off, toward the trees. Chtessa took of in the same direction, jumping from treetop to treetop.

"Inuyasha, come here for a moment," called Miroku. "And bring Kagome's things."

Inuyasha got up reluctantly, hefting the pink bike over his shoulder. He strode over to the campfire, where Kagome was setting a pot over the fire, and Miroku was sharpening skewers for the fish. Kagome pulled several packages from her backpack and ripped them open. Inuyasha sniffed the air appreciatively. Ramen. He dropped the bike down behind Kagome, making her squeal and throw one of the packages in the air. Inuyasha caught it easily, as Kagome spun around angrily.

"Inuyasha, SIT!" she yelled.

The beads around Inuyasha's neck glowed, and he plummeted to the ground, stifling a yell. He got up growling.

"What the hell was that for!" he moaned. Kagome picked up the ramen that had fallen from his hand, brushed it off, and placed it into the cooking pot.

"You shouldn't sneak up on people," she replied calmly.

"So now I _sneak_?"

"Please, please," sighed Miroku, gesturing with his hands. Kagome and Inuyasha turned toward the monk. "Inuyasha, simply apologize to Lady Kagome."

Silence met his suggestion. Kagome had a smug look on her face and Inuyasha was slowly turning all shades of red; like a dam about to break. Kagome turned toward Inuyasha expectantly.

"Apologize? You want me to apologize? Fine!" The half-demon looked straight into her eyes. "Kagome, I'm sorry you can't hear well when people _sneak_ around behind you!"

Kagome stood up, hands clenched.

"Inuyasha," she said, with obvious anger suppressed in her voice. "Sit, sit, sit, SIT!" she screamed in his face. He only had a few moments to look shocked before he was face-down in the dirt.

"I'm going home!" Kagome yelled over her shoulder as she grabbed her backpack. She got on her bike, head bent low over the handlebars and took off, her anger fueling the pedals.

Inuyasha pried himself out of a hole in the ground and raised himself up, shakily.

"Yeah, well, see what I care!" he yelled at her retreating back. He dropped back to the ground around the fire and stuffed his hands in his sleeves. Shippo jumped up on his shoulder.

"Inuyasha, why do you always have to make her mad?" he asked.

"What do you mean, I made her mad? She's been like that for a few days now." Inuyasha said, tugging his necklace irritably.

"I believe it's because of one of those 'tests' she has in her era," Miroku added. "She's been going on about it for some time. It was quite obviously the source of her anger." Inuyasha growled at him.

Shippo hopped off of his shoulder and picked up one of the sharpened sticks for the fish. He slashed at imaginary enemies and dodged invisible attacks. Inuyasha watched him, amused for a while until the small fox demon stopped and waved the stick in the air, pointing at something.

"Sango and Kilala are coming back!" he shouted, bouncing in unrestrained excitement.

"Chtessa is coming too?" asked Miroku. He added more wood to the fire. The water in the pot was beginning to heat up the ramen and Inuyasha's nose twitched when Miroku mixed in the seasoning.

"Of course she is," said Shippo, settling back down to poke at a bug with his stick.

Inuyasha noticed an absence of noise and looked around; trying to place what was missing. There was Momo, chewing placidly; Sango and Kilala walking over to the fire with a string of fish; Chtessa leaping down from a last tree and striding toward the group with a basket; Totosai sheathing the Tetsusaiga. Ah, that was it. The rhythmic pounding of the smith's hammer was gone. No doubt the old man had smelled the food and finished up early.

"So what was it you wanted me for?" Inuyasha asked Miroku, who was spitting fish near the fire with Sango.

"Well," he shrugged. "I was going to ask what we were going to do next about Naraku, but seeing as how we're about to eat, perhaps it isn't the best time." Chtessa reached everyone as he finished speaking and dropped the basket she was carrying next to Shippo.

"Where's Kagome?" she asked, after looking around to find her.

Sango looked up. "Yes. I was wondering as well." Kilala, now back to her cat state, mewed at her companion and was rewarded with a pat on the head. Inuyasha looked away uncomfortably.

"Uh, she decided she needed to go back to her own time to take another test." He became very interested in the dirt on the ground in front of him when Miroku glanced at him.

"Oh," said Chtessa slowly. "Are you sure?"

Before anyone could answer, Shippo jumped up on her shoulder. "That's not what I saw. Inuyasha and Kagome got in a fight again and she went home."

"Really?" Chtessa glared at Inuyasha.

"Yep!"

Chtessa grabbed the front of Inuyasha's haori, lifting him up on his feet. "You moron! We need her to find the jewel shards! You know that! Now we'll have to wait for who knows how long for her to come back, because you're to stubborn to admit you're wrong and go get her!" She rubbed her forehead in agitation. "That's at least two days wasted because we don't know where we need to go." Moaning, Chtessa sat down and began petting Kilala, who flourished under the attention.

During the gap in the conversation, Totosai ambled over to Inuyasha and gave him back his sword.

"I don't know why I bother fixing this. Most likely you'll tear it up within the week." The old man admitted tearfully.

"Feh," said Inuyasha, replacing the sword behind his belt.

Totosai led Momo closer to where the fire was. For the most part, everyone was gathered around the cook pot, where Miroku was filling bowls with ramen for everyone. The only exception was Chtessa who was still glaring at Inuyasha. Kilala had left her lap to nibble bits of the fish that were being cooked, until she was caught by Sango.

Shippo paused in stuffing his face long enough to look up from his bowl.

"Kagome's coming back," he said to his ramen. Chtessa's ears twitched and she jumped up.

"She is? Where?" she looked in the direction Shippo pointed. "At least now we might not be so late, that is as long as we leave here at the…" she cut off. Miroku looked up at her.

"What's the matter?" he asked a confused looking Chtessa.

"That's not Kagome," she said simply, crossing her arms.

"What?" Miroku stood up and walked over to Chtessa's vantage point. He placed a hand on his brow, to block out the setting sun. "I can't tell from here. My eyes can't see as far as yours can."

"It's not her." said Inuyasha suddenly, from his position on the ground near the fire. Miroku turned back to look at him.

"How do you know?" he asked.

"It's not her scent; it's someone else." Inuyasha busied himself with getting another bowl of ramen.

"It's not your brother is it?" Totosai inquired fearfully from next to Momo, his hand shaking and causing ramen to fall out of the bowl he was holding.

Inuyasha glanced at the sword smith. "If it was Sesshomaru, don't you think I'd be doing something other than sitting here? I don't know who it is, but…their scent is messed up. I don't know how to explain it other than that. All I can tell is that they're a demon. Maybe Chtessa can word it better."

Everyone looked at the female half demon hopefully, but she only shrugged. "I can't elaborate any more than that." She sniffed at the air. "I think…that the demon is a female. I'm not certain."

"Shippo, what about you?" asked Sango, handing Kilala a bit of her fish. The cat demon pounced on the fish and began eating.

"Me?" The small fox asked incredulously. "How would I be able to tell if Inuyasha and Chtessa couldn't?"

Miroku smiled at Shippo. "You are a fox demon. Aren't foxes supposed to be masters of seeing past illusions? Perhaps the demon is trying to hide herself, so she changed her scent. And you _were_ the one who noticed this demon first."

"I didn't say it was necessarily a female," Chtessa remarked to no one.

"Of course we are! A fox is much better at the art of illusions than a dog," said Shippo proudly, folding his tiny arms across his puffed out chest. Chtessa turned her head and glared at the small demon, growling softly in her throat and baring her teeth. Shippo squeaked and hid behind Miroku, peeking out over his shoulder. Inuyasha growled something about incompetence under his breath.

"Look, Shippo," Inuyasha ground out. "Just check the demon's scent!"

Shippo squeaked again, but he lifted his head in the direction of the approaching demon and stared hard at the figure. The demon couldn't be seen clearly, walking toward them with the sun at its back.

"I can't tell anything," said Shippo. "I'm too young to do much fox magic." Sango sighed and shook her head as she gave Kilala another piece of fish.

"Well, friend or foe," she said. "We don't need to wait much longer to find out. They're almost here." The demons turned toward the horizon and watched the blurry shape come closer; until they were only about twenty feet away.

The figure stopped halfway to the fire; the outline suggested that they were definitely female.

"Hello," said a soft female voice. "Have I found Totosai the smith?" She stepped to the side of the setting sun, her features no longer disfigured by the shadows.

A tall, female wolf demon stood in front of them, her brown hair pulled back and tied up. She wore the traditional wolf demon tribe clothes; close-fitting armor with black fur on the shoulders and around her waist. Her tail hung down to her knees and twitched occasionally. Her shin guards were torn and scuffed, as was the rest of her armor and sword was stuck through a loop on her waist and the hilt glinted slightly in the fading light. Miroku was on his feet before she could say anything else.

"My dear, you have most certainly found the honorable smith Totosai," he began, taking her hand between his. He looked into her blue, confused eyes, which was a bit difficult because she was almost as tall as he was. "Might I also add that you are perhaps the most beautiful demon I've ever met?"

Chtessa gave voice to something that sounded remarkably like a bark, then covered her mouth quickly and Sango very nearly growled. Miroku didn't take the hint.

"Would you consider bearing my children?" he asked. The wolf demon blinked at the bluntness of the statement.

Sango was on her feet before he finished. She took two swift strides toward the lecherous monk and slammed her Hiraikotsu into the back of his head. Miroku fell forward from the blow, stumbling into the wolf demon. The unexpected contact and the force made the visitor lose her balance and fall backward. She landed hard on her back, all of the air forced from her lungs. Before she could take a breath, Miroku landed on her and her head knocked back against a rock under her. The monk raised himself up on one hand; the other was clutched to his head. He stared at the demon under him in confusion and surprise. She was glaring at him, her mouth drawn down in displeasure.

"I am very sorry about this. Please accept my apo…lo…gy…oh, my." As Miroku watched, the demon's eyes changed from blue to green-gold and the pupil dilated like a cat's. Her hair lengthened and turned ebony black, a few strands hanging in front of her face, and her clothes changed from armor to a dark blue and purple kimono with an orange sash. Her tail grew longer and thicker, the end spotted with silver fur and big, black ears grew from her head, tufted with silver. A heavy silver ring pierced her left ear.

The transformation happened in a matter of seconds, to the amazed group. Even Sango stopped with her hand on Miroku's shirt, intending to jerk him off of the demon, and watched with wide eyes. Miroku stood up and backed off a few steps, while the rest of the group gathered around the demon on the ground. She fumed silently, her eyes flashing angrily at everyone. Her gaze stopped on Totosai. The sword smith gave a yelp and took a step backward.

"Oh, dear," he muttered. Inuyasha stepped forward with a hand on Tetsusaiga and so did Chtessa, flexing her claws.

"No stupid cat is going to hurt you, old man," said Chtessa, her eyes on the "wolf" demon. The demon's frown broke and she threw her head back, laughing. She smiled at Chtessa, wiping tears from her eyes.

"I'm a cat if you're a wolf," she said, cocking her head sideways and grinning. Chtessa growled at the smiling demon.

"How dare you compare me to those flea-ridden, mangy, worthless, good-for-nothings!" she yelled with a clenched fist. Inuyasha relaxed his hold on his sword's grip and folded his arms. She didn't look too threatening, laughing like that. Shippo peeked around Inuyasha's leg and pointed at her.

"She's not a cat," he announced. "She's a fox…like me!"

The expressions on the group's faces were so funny, the fox started laughing again.

**

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****You've no idea how long it took me to write this. sigh It came out pretty good though, didn't it? Oh, explanations: Chtessa is a character my best friend made. She looks almost exactly like Inuyasha, but has brown hair and ears, and her bangs and the pieces that hang down the side are blonde. She has gold eyes and a scar on her right cheek, and she usually wears a blue kimono, like Inuyasha's. **

**Mitashi Tsukimoto**


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